Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Pharmacoepidemiology is an important part of an on-going major expansion in the area of the use of drugs (medicines) at the faculty of Pharmacy, which includes, among other initiatives, this professorship. It will also be possible to link the post to the newly formed EpiHub network, a research unit in epidemiology recently formed at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, for jointly laying a long-term foundation for advanced epidemiological research.

Work duties
Duties comprise teaching, research and administration. Teaching includes course management, course administration and supervision of doctoral students. Also included in the position is the duty to follow development in the holder’s own subject and in the development of society in general.

Qualifications/eligibility requirements
To be eligible for employment as a professor, the applicant must have shown both research and teaching expertise (Swedish Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 4, Section 3). Under the Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University (§ 5), having the personal characteristics required to perform the duties of the post well is a general eligibility requirement.

Research expertise
Research expertise must have been demonstrated by independent research work and by the fact that the applicant's activities maintain a high international and national standard. In assessment of research expertise, particular emphasis will be put on research qualifications in central research areas of pharmacoepidemiology. Key examples of such areas are the use of drugs (medicines) and its consequences in the form of pharmacological effects and side-effects, and also the use and prescription patterns for drugs, including polypharmacy, in the population or in limited categories thereof.

Another qualification for the professorship is experience of epidemiological register research, especially use of the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (SDPR), including demonstrated methodological skills in epidemiology. Regarding the latter, familiarity with the methodological development of the past decade in the area of causal inference is particularly desirable. This includes new methods of measuring causal effects in observation data and for identifying, and distinguishing between, immediate and long-term effects, and methods of avoiding bias.

The applicant must have demonstrated expertise in planning, initiating, leading, and developing research, have demonstrated the capacity to obtain resear ch funding in competition, and demonstrate well-documented expertise in supervising third-cycle students. The applicant's contributions to the international and national academic community must be assessed on the basis of, among other things, the quality and scope of his/her academic publications in publishing channels most relevant to the subject. Requirements for international merits must be assessed on the basis of the character and specific circumstances of the subject.

Teaching expertise
Teaching expertise must be demonstrated by educational and teaching qualifications (see § 23 of the Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University). Furthermore, the applicant must demonstrate well-documented expertise in supervision in the first, second and third cycles. A prerequisite for having demonstrated teaching expertise is that applicants have completed teacher training for higher education of relevance to operations at the University, comprising at least ten weeks, or have acquired the equivalent knowledge. If special circumstances apply, this training for teachers in higher education may be completed during the first two years of employment. The teacher training must also include third cycle supervision.

To be eligible for appointment as a teacher an applicant must have a documented ability to teach in Swedish and English. If special reasons apply, a person who lacks the ability to teach in Swedish is required to acquire this ability within the first two years.

Assessment criteria
In assessment of the eligible applicants, most weight will be assigned to research expertise, followed by teaching expertise. Balancing of assessment criteria will nevertheless take place so that an applicant who is judged to be significantly more skilful in terms of teaching than another applicant who is slightly more skilful in terms of research may be ranked above the latter.

Research expertise
In assessing research expertise research quality must be the prime consideration. The scope of research, primarily in regard to depth and breadth, must also be afforded consideration. Furthermore, consideration must be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead and develop research and education in the third cycle, the ability to acquire funding for research in competition, as well as the demonstrated capacity to interact with others both within academia and in the wider community. See also § 3 of Guidelines and assessment criteria for recruiting and promoting teachers at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy (RB).

Teaching expertise
In assessing teaching expertise teaching quality must be the prime consideration. The scope of teaching experience, in terms of both breadth and depth, must also be afforded consideration. Furthermore, consideration must be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead, and develop teaching and instruction, as well as the ability to connect research to teaching in respect to research in the subject at hand, subject didactics, as well as teaching and learning in higher education. The ability to interact concerning issues of teaching and learning in higher education with actors inside and outside the University is also included in teaching expertise. See also § 4 of RB.

When the University appoints new teachers those applicants must be selected who, following a

qualitative holistic assessment of their competence and expertise, are judged to have the best

potential to carry out and develop the relevant duties and to help advance operations.

Assessment criteria: other expertise
Expertise in the areas of management and administration are important for the appointment and weight will be assigned to both. The ability to cooperate with the community at large, and to inform others of research and development, will also be taken into account.

Management expertise
Management expertise is demonstrated through the capacity to lead operations and personnel, make decisions, take responsibility, and motivate others, providing them with what is needed for the efficient achievement of common goals. The abilities to coordinate the group and help create a sense of involvement, participation, and enjoyment in work and to deal with conflicts constitute further examples of demonstrated expertise. See also § 5 of RB.

Administrative expertise
According to the Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University, administrative expertise is demonstrated, for example, through the capacity to plan, organize, and prioritize work in an efficient and task-related manner as well as through the ability to assign and observe time frames. Expertise includes overall operational planning and the capacity to manage resources in a way that reflects operational priorities as well as the ability to work in a structured manner based on an awareness of goals and quality. See also § 5 of RB.

Collaborative expertise
Under § 6 of RB, when assessing collaborative expertise, experience with and expertise in education and outreach, editorships and other activities related to knowledge exchange between the university and the surrounding community, as well as experience with innovation and entrepreneurship, shall be of significance.

The aspect of gender equality will be applied if, after an overall qualitative assessment, two applicants of the same gender are deemed to have equivalent or virtually equivalent qualifications.

The applicant’s parental leave, part-time work due to care of children or the like will count as qualifying work experience.

Uppsala University values the qualities that equal gender distribution and diversity bring to its activities. We would therefore like to see applicants of all genders and with varied birth backgrounds, functional capacity and life experience.

Information about the position is available from Professor Margareta Hammarlund-Udenaes or Head of Department Erik Björk.

The Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University are available here

The Guidelines and assessment criteria for recruiting and promoting teachers at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy are available here.

Career Portfolios: Instructions for compiling qualifications and guidelines for qualification assessment in connection with recruitment of teachers is available here

You are welcome to submit your application, which should be written in English, no later than 10  februari 2019, quoting the reference number UFV-PA 2018/3529